


A Love Song

by TheCrowMaiden



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, Link (Legend of Zelda) Uses Sign Language, Link helping support Sidon for a change, M/M, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Sidon tells a story of Mikau and Lulu from Majora's Mask, slight mentions of game mechanics like teleporting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:33:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22394836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrowMaiden/pseuds/TheCrowMaiden
Summary: Sidon tells Link an old Zora legend, and when Sidon starts to break under a heavy burden, Link uses the story as inspiration for how to help.
Relationships: Kinda - Relationship, Link & Prince Sidon, Link/Prince Sidon, Lulu/Mikau
Comments: 5
Kudos: 181





	A Love Song

A great pile of Staminoka and Hyrule bass glistened on the rocks at the edge of the lakeshore, sparkling like treasures every time the odd one gave a feeble flop. The sky was clear and the breeze was mild: a perfect day for fishing in fine company.

Sidon gathered the edges of the net the bass were resting on, hoisting it up onto his shoulders as he looked to his companion. Link, dressed in naught but his trousers, was ankle deep in the water, wriggling his toes in the gravel that he had once informed Sidon could be called sand only if one was generous. The face Link had pulled while signing that sentiment had amused Sidon so greatly he had taken to calling Mikau Lake his favourite beach, just to see Link make the face again.

A fire burned merrily a ways back, an old soup lid propped over it with sticks. The Zora armour was set out to dry next to Link’s ever-present pile of paraphernalia. The Hylian himself was still dallying in the water, looking under rocks even though he already had a sackful of snails hanging from his belt.

“Link, you have plundered the lake enough for one day!” Sidon called over the roar of the waterfall. “Let us sort our bounty!”

Sighing, Link walked back to the fire and flopped down. _I rarely have this much luck on my own,_ he signed, _and I can make a lot of meals from this._

“Of course my friend, but we will fish again soon. I promise.”

Sidon set the net down and joined Link in going through their catch, setting aside the best fish for immediate cooking and separating those suited for drying. While Sidon could never quite be sure how the Sheikah Slate allowed for storage of such things as perishable food, he and Link agreed that it was wise to have traditional rations as well in case of emergency.

They worked in silence for a while, Sidon splitting fish and carving them into strips with a small knife that made for neater work than his claws as Link hummed and cooked over the fire. When he got to threading the fish onto sticks, Sidon paused and glanced over. Often Link would tell of his travels and discoveries when they were together, but as his hands were full…

“Stories make for pleasant work,” Sidon said out loud, grinning. He could certainly work and talk at the same time, and even entertain his friend for once! “Did you know the legend of the great Mikau and Lulu that the lakes were named for?”

Link had to shield his eyes with one hand as he signed _no_ with the other, the sun glinting off Sidon’s finery causing light to play over Link’s features. But Link smiled, shifting around the fire without even a pause in his cooking so he could face Sidon without squinting. Then, he sat and nodded—obviously waiting to hear the tale.

“The legend tells of a Zora female with the most beautiful voice, which captivated all who heard it. She was a great singer who traveled far from her domain to perform, and others travelled even farther to listen. Her name was Lulu, and her voice was celebrated across the land. But one day, she was stricken mute by the grief of losing her newly laid eggs, stolen in the night by thieves! The great warrior Mikau, who was a musician himself, cared for Lulu dearly and refused to allow her to suffer such an injustice. So he swam out into the great sea to accost the villains who wronged his love.”

Sidon sighed then, shaking his head with proper drama. It was one of his favourite tales, and he remembered every pause Mipha had employed when she told it to him as a child. “But alas…he died.”

 _What?!_ Link’s hands flew in shock, the spoon dropping into the makeshift frying pan. His expression fell, a line appearing between his eyes. _That's an awful story._

“Dear friend, I’m not done.” Sidon winked cheerfully, and Link audibly groaned. “Mikau perished, but such was his love that his spirit rose up and tried again. Some say when he failed he turned back time itself for another chance, even if he could not prevent his demise. He travelled the domain to gather clues, he fought the thieves, and he saved the eggs. And then, his spirit stood before Lulu and played a song most dear to her, bringing her back her voice.”

Link was watching Sidon with rapt attention, his hands full of ingredients for his next dish. But he didn’t place them over the fire yet, drawn as he was to the story. Sidon felt his chest swell a bit, and hoped his sister was proud of him for bringing the tale to life in her stead.

“There was great gladness amongst the Zora when Lulu could sing once again, and the domain rejoiced. As for Mikau, he vanished shortly after and was never seen again. No one knew his fate until the next day, when they discovered his precious guitar on the beach. It rested at the head of a cairn of stones, weathered and clearly several weeks old.”

Apart from the noise from the waterfall there was suitable silence for such an ending, and Link shook his head after a moment and dumped the radishes into the lid along with a Hyrule bass. He wiped his hands before smiling at Sidon, and signing out his thoughts.

_Okay, that was much better._

“Indeed! I’m very fond of that legend; it was an oversight on my part that I never told you it before.”

They finished their work in comfortable silence afterwards, until the sun started to dip below the mountains and the breeze turned cold. Sidon hoisted the strung lines of fish to his shoulders, and Link pulled on his gear. Within moments, Sidon’s dear friend was no longer a simple, cheeky young man with dirty trousers, gutting fish over a campfire: he was a Hero. He had declined to put on his Zora armour, replacing it with a feathered headband and thick clothing suited for the mountains.

 _I need to leave right away,_ Link told him with a sigh, _I’ve delayed too long._

“I understand,” Sidon said, and he did. He didn’t like that Link felt his moments of rest were delays, but he understood all the same. He remembered his sister being the same way, once. “I shall finish preserving these during your absence so you have dried fish for your next journey.”

Even as Link became awash in blue, his visage swimming with the swirls of Sheikah technology as he faded from sight, he brought his hand to his lips and brought it down again in a motion much like a Hylian blown-kiss. And then he was gone.

“You’re welcome,” Sidon sighed as he replied to the empty air. “Be safe.”

xxx

It was two months before Link returned to the Zora’s Domain.

When he finally arrived, he walked out of the shrine looking tired and worn, his armour dented and burned. Sidon couldn’t even greet him as he wanted to, waiting on the steps since the guards had raised the call there was light coming from Ne’ez Yohma. He wanted to bundle Link off to bed, serve him a hearty stew and talk through the night, but he had to be Prince of the Zora before he was Sidon—and the East Reservoir was flooding again.

So he had to request Link’s aid in checking on Vah Ruta before he could ask if his friend was wounded, had to send him off again before he had properly welcomed him back. When they found out the rains that had raged for weeks were unrelated to the Divine Beast, Sidon could do no more than thank Link for checking; he had nothing else to spare. The reservoir had to be strengthened, supplies had to be brought in, missing Zora had to be located, and the Prince had to be in charge of it all.

Morale amongst his people plummeted as the days dragged on. When Vah Ruta had been responsible, there had been hope for an end. With nothing but the weather to blame, they had nothing to fight against but the rain itself. Time and time again Sidon swam to the top of the reservoir to shore it up, using his height to reach where the others could not. And time and time again the wood they hammered into place split under the pressure, and the groaning of imminent disaster woke them in the night.

Sidon didn’t call it evacuation, but families were sent to fish farther and farther from the Domain, led by Fronk and Mei. Even Link, who had valiantly helped with all he could, was sent away. Sidon had not even been able to do so with the gravity he thought worthy to bid someone he cared for farewell. He had simply bundled the dried fish into a pack, and carried it and Link to the shrine where he insisted the Hylian leave.

When no one was left but his father, Muzu—who had refused to leave—and himself, the rains finally began to ease.

His muscles burning from the desperate last-minute efforts to shore up the reservoir with boulders, Sidon sat overlooking the lake. For the first time in months, the clouds had thinned and the Domain was no longer shrouded in darkness. But the light only highlighted the patchwork attempts to hold in the flood just one more day, and how close they had come to failure.

To his right, Mikau Lake had swallowed the banks where Sidon had spent his last happy day with Link. He wondered if he would see him again.

It would take weeks before they could put their home to rights once the rain stopped, if it did. Perhaps when that day came, and all the Zora had returned, Sidon could send out a messenger or two after his friend. Maybe he would understand why Sidon had pushed him away that day, and forgive him…or maybe not. Thinking back, all Sidon could think of was telling Link armour didn’t make him a Zora, and he had to go. Had he thought to specify that he meant the Zora armour wouldn’t give Link the ability to swim well enough to escape the flood?

He couldn’t remember a single smile he had graced Link with after his friend had come back that first day, and he slumped forward with a sigh—no, he couldn’t send anyone after Link now; it just wouldn’t be proper.

The sun struggled through the clouds, and a rainbow arced gracefully over the Domain. Sidon knew he should begin preparations to bring everyone back, but in that moment he couldn’t make himself. In that moment he just wanted to feel for what he had lost by trying to save it. The rain beat down on his head and he closed his eyes, wishing that day on the Lake had lasted forever.

A single note sounded behind him, and he briefly thought it to be the sound of a bokoblin’s horn brought to him by a trick of the wind. But then it continued: a high-pitched and breathy little tune that was familiar in a way he couldn’t place. It reminded him of wood smoke, steel, and quiet smiles…it reminded him of Link.

And when Sidon turned around, that was who was standing behind him.

Dressed in the Zora armour, a rough set of panpipes in his hand, Link played through the tune again before he stopped, looking at Sidon with a tentative smile. He looked hale and healthy and, beyond all belief, happy to see him.

“How...why?” Sidon managed to say, staring as if the Hylian was only a vision who would vanish if he blinked.

 _You’ve been unhappy,_ Link signed, his cheeks flushed as he tucked the panpipes away. _You…lost your voice. I didn't know the song from the legend, and I couldn't make a guitar, but I thought..._

Link’s hands slowed, his fingers stumbling over themselves as he tried to finish a sentence that didn't need to be finished. Because Sidon understood.

He couldn’t sing, never had, so he did the next best thing: he laughed. He laughed in the face of everything that had burdened him, jumping to his feet so he could lift Link up and swing him around in the rain. The weather didn't matter, because he knew then that he wouldn't have to bear it alone. Their eyes met, and Sidon swallowed hard. His voice had stopped in his throat, and he realized his arms were occupied in holding Link up and couldn’t ask what he wanted either.

But Link could, and he carefully signed a single word. Touching his mouth and then his cheek, he followed it up with the multiple finger-wiggles that signified a question mark. Luckily, it was just the question the Zora had wanted to ask himself.

_(Kiss?)_

So he obliged of course, both of their faces radiant with colour as the rain stopped at last and left them with nothing but sunlight. Sidon wasn’t sure the music hadn’t started up again when they kissed, and his heart soared like a Rito.

“They’ll have to name lakes after us now,” he told Link with a grin when he finally pulled back, and Link smiled broadly in return.

_I’ll find some._


End file.
